ADDIS ABABA Ethiopia (Xinhua) -- The African Union (AU) Peace and Security
Commissioner Smail Chergui will travel later this month to
mediate solutions in the border dispute between Djibouti and
Eritrea.

The revelation was
made on Tuesday by African Union Commission Chairperson Moussa
Faki Mahamat at a press conference after closing of the 29th
AU Ordinary summit held from June 27-July 4 in Ethiopia’s
capital Addis Ababa.

The Gulf nation of
Qatar mediated between the two Red Sea nations in 2010,
culminating in a 450 strong Qatari peacekeeping force being
stationed in the disputed border.

However, Qatar
abruptly removed its forces from the border last month, when
both Djibouti and Eritrea backed Saudi Arabia led campaign to
isolate Qatar.

Subsequent to the
Qatari troops withdrawal, Djibouti accused Eritrea of occupying
the disputed border area and appealed to the African Union and
the United Nations to resolve the crisis.

Eritrea hasn’t yet
given its official position on AU’s or UN’s possible involvement
in mediating in its border dispute with Djibouti.

Saudi Arabia, Egypt
and United Arab Emirates and Bahrain have accused Qatar of
supporting terrorism. Qatar has denied the charge.

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EARLIER REPORTS:

East
African bloc calls for restraint at Djibouti-Eritrea border

ADDIS ABABA Ethiopia (Xinhua) -- The Executive Secretary of the
Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), Mahboub
Maalim, on Monday called for restraint at Djibouti-Eritrea
border.

Maalim, who is
closely following the recent developments between Djibouti and
Eritrea after the withdrawal of Qatar’s peace keeping forces
from the border between the two countries, is highly concerned
by this development, said an IGAD statement.

The Executive
Secretary has called on both countries to apply utmost restraint
in solving the matter.

The African Union
(AU) on Saturday made a call for restraint on the border of the
two East African nations.

The Chairperson of
the AU Commission, Moussa Faki Mahamat, highlighted that the AU
Commission, in close consultations with the authorities in
Djibouti and Eritrea, is in the process of deploying a
fact-finding mission to the Djibouti-Eritrea border.

Maalim has commended
the prompt response of the Chairperson of the AU Commission.

“IGAD believes that
the situation should be addressed as quickly as possible,” the
Executive Secretary has called on the UN to support the AU in
its efforts to get hold of the situation.

The Executive
Secretary has assured IGAD Secretariat’s readiness to
relentlessly work towards bringing peace between Djibouti and
Eritrea, according to the statement from the East African bloc.

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Ethiopia
calls for calm in Eritrea-Djibouti border dispute

ADDIS ABABA Ethiopia (Xinhua) --Ethiopia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) has
called for calm in the border dispute between the two red sea
nations of Eritrea and Djibouti, with which it shares common
border.

The statement from
regional heavyweight Ethiopia on Sunday will be keenly watched
as the landlocked nation of 100 million people used to utilize
Eritrean ports for its import and export trade 20 years ago.

That changed when a
border war between Ethiopia and Eritrea from 1998-2000 which
cost around 70,000 lives on both sides saw Ethiopia lose access
to Eritrean ports and instead rely on Djiboutian ports.

Ethiopia views its
access to Djiboutian ports, through which about 95 percent of
its external trade passes through, as a national security issue,
raising fears the Eritrea-Djibouti border dispute could turn
into a conflict involving Ethiopia.

Ethiopia’s current
non-permanent membership in the United Nations Security Council
(UNSC) has also raised speculations about Ethiopia’s role in the
scheduled Monday meeting of UNSC to discuss the Eritrea-Djibouti
border tensions.

Djibouti has
appealed to the AU and UNSC to resolve the border dispute, while
accusing Eritrea of moving its troops to the disputed territory.

A border dispute
between Eritrea and Djibouti resulted in armed clashes in June
2008, leaving several people dead from both sides.

A mediation effort
led by the Gulf Kingdom of Qatar in 2010 led to a Qatari
peacekeeping force being stationed in the Eritrea-Djibouti
border.

Tensions between
Eritrea and Djibouti resurfaced after a 450 strong Qatari
peacekeeping force stationed in their common border left the
area abruptly on Wednesday.

The Qatari troops
left the Eritrea-Border Djibouti after Eritrea signaled its
support for Saudi Arabia led efforts to isolate Qatar.

Saudi Arabia, Egypt,
Bahrain and United Arab Emirates have accused Qatar of
supporting terrorism and severed ties earlier this month.

Qatar has denied the
charge but its ties to regional Saudi rival Iran and support for
various Islamist groups has put it at odds with fellow Gulf
region countries.

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Djibouti
appeals to AU, UN over border dispute with Eritrea

ADDIS ABABA Ethiopia (Xinhua) --
Djibouti has appealed to the African Union (AU) and the United
Nations Security Council (UNSC) to resolve border dispute with
Eritrea, after it said Eritrea occupied a disputed territory in
their common border.

The statement was
made to Xinhua on Friday by the ambassador of the Republic of
Djibouti in Ethiopia, Permanent Representative to the African
Union (AU) and the Economic Commission for Africa, Mohammed
Idriss.

On Wednesday, 450
strong Qatari troops that had been stationed in the common
border between Eritrea and Djibouti were removed after Eritrea
sided with Saudi Arabia led efforts to isolate Qatar over its
“support of terrorist groups.”

The Djiboutian
Ambassador said he has already met African Union Commission
Chairperson Moussa Faki Mahamat to find peaceful ways for the
border dispute.

Idriss also says his
country is in discussion with UNSC member nations regarding
efforts to resolve the border crisis.

Saudi Arabia, Egypt,
the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain have accused Qatar of
supporting terrorism.

Qatar has denied the
charge, but its ties to regional Saudi rival Iran and embrace of
various Islamist groups have put the country at odds with its
Gulf neighbors.

Eritrea also has
allegedly been a base for the ongoing Saudi Arabia led war in
Yemen.

Qatar mediated in
Djibouti and Eritrea over their common borders in 2010, after
clashes between the two Rea Sea nations left several people from
both sides dead in May 2008.

“Djibouti will
always work with the International Community to ensure peace and
security in the region and is hoping the border dispute is
solved amicably,” says Idriss.